Rep Power: 0

Hi all,

I've slowly been fixing assorted issues on the 2001 Honda Civic LX I have, and this forum has been extremely helpful for someone who knows nothing about fixing a car like myself. I've changed the 02 sensor, spark plugs, headlights, main fuel relay, and driver's side engine mount on this car successfully last summer, and I just have a few more issues I need your input on. Thanks so much, appreciate the help.

Issue #1:
The Seatbelt buckle is loose at the base, where I assume it is screwed/bolted
near the base of the driver's seat. The seatbelt itself and the clicking mechanism itself work perfectly fine, it's just the buckle is loose from the base. I think the bolt may be off of the seat entirely now, but I'm not sure. To put that bolt back on or tighten it, do I have to remove that middle plastic covering the parking break? I am just assuming, and would that give me enough space to get a torque wrench in there to tighten it, and how tight should it be? Honda West in Calgary said they would charge me $200+ for that issue.


Issue #2: The lights on the instrument cluster (speedometer, fuel etc.) are quite dim, although there is some light apparent. The dimmer **** itself works, in that it goes from really dim to just dim, but it never gets really bright in the night, and it's a big issue. So I thought it could be a fuse, checked the fuse for it, and it's not blown, just a little brown on the metal.
Secondly, I was thinking it could be the bulbs, and I've removed the screws from the top of the instrument cluster, but I can't get the plastic cover off. I read a few other people on the internet had a similar issue in that they can't remove the plastic cover, even after removing the top two securing screws and moving their steering wheel down. I tried pushing forward on the plastic and trying to pull out the bottom, but it just won't come out.

Issue #3: The factory Radio/CD player has no power to it now, no lights or anything on display. This issue keeps recurring, whenever we get a new battery, I re-enter the CODE and everything works fine for a while. Next the CD player usually goes first. One time for instance, the CD player stayed on even after keys to the ignition were removed and engine was off. Had to disengage battery to get it to turn off. Then the radio usually works for a few days longer, and then by the end of one week, the radio always stops working, and a few days after that, the time display usually disappears as well. I've heard people also saying check the ground wires, where are those located and is that a possible cause? Also, just some background story as well, I've had to change the battery 4 times in the last 5 or 6 years, and the alternator is also new last year, so I wonder if it's the ELD, or electrical load detector like some people have mentioned. I am tempted to buy one from ebay for $28, because one of the local parts stores (part source) I called in Calgary, Canada, doesn't have this part, the employee on the phone said he's never heard of an ELD, and that Honda probably doesn't want it out there (ie. they'd want me to change the whole fuse box?). However, on youtube I saw a video of someone fixing it in the U.S., and he said he was able to purchase the part from a local store for $20. Any idea on this, and will it likely help for something like this? I also checked all other fuses under both the hood and steering wheel, and none of the fuses are blown, just brown at the tips of the clip in part of the fuses...

Again, APPRECIATE all the help!

 
Rep Power: 517

Many of these have the buckle mounted on a bolt that will allow a small amount of pivot. IDK if yours would or not.
If you want to tighten it up or inspect it, I'd probably just unbolt the seat from the floor (4 bolts-- 14mm socket) and lean it back or tip it on its side to access the buckle attachment.

I can't tell from the description if you got the cluster out of the dash or not, or if you are trying to split the cluster in half or take the lens off with it still in the dash.....

Dash trim comes off, then 3 screws hold the gauge cluster in, tip the top toward you and disconnect the wiring, slide it out.
All of the replaceable bulbs are accessed from the back of the gauge cluster once it is out of the dash.


Jeez, there's a lot of drama in that one.
You want fries with that?

If the radio stays on after the key is shut off, my first thought is that some kids used it for a piggy bank. Coins now bridging random circuits inside it: could kill the battery, leave the unit running, let the dash and parking lights come on, or blow fuses, or make the radio act up....all depends on where the coins land inside.
Can you pull it out of the dash and shake it? You should know right away if I guessed right LOL.

Could just be a bad radio too. Microprocessor controls can do weird stuff sometimes.
I can't tell from here.


For what reason?
Define "had to".

What happens?
Do you find a battery dead one morning? Does Walmart (or wherever) push them on you when you get the oil changed?

If it is killing batteries, there could be many possible causes-- including care and driving habits. Cheapo discount batteries?

First thing is to eliminate the radio as a possible cause, then do a draw check measuring milliamp drain after the car is shut off and closed up.
If it is too high, that could be the problem.
Under 50 mA is considered ok (general spec), and those cars usually have under 20mA when I check them.



My understanding is that Canadian market cars don't have the ELD. My wiring diagram shows it as USA only.

I'd think it's just oxidation. Normal after several years.


HTH

 
Rep Power: 0

Issue #1 is now resolved, thanks for the suggestion to remove the 4 bolts securing the driver's seat instead of the center panel (around the parking brake). I was able to re-attach the seatbelt buckle to the seat properly, THANKS! One side question I do have about this process, is whether it's sufficient to tighten the bolts with a simple socket wrench, which I did. They seem tight, but I wonder if I need a drill or a larger torque wrench? Is there a difference between a socket and torque wrench? Sorry for these elementary questions....
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Issue #2:

All I've completed so far, is simply removing the two screws holding the dash trim in place, and lowered the steering wheel column. I cannot get the lower part of the dash trim to come off. I've seen on youtube and also read online, of how other people had a similar issue, with the dash trim being a pain to get off. It's supposed to have clips in lower part of the trim, but I cannot grab onto anything to get it off, and also if I pull from the top of the trim (which comes out fine), I feel like the plastic trim is going to break or cut my finger (as I've read this happened to someone). In the youtube videos, the dash trim appears to come out so easily for some other people, I guess if it's been removed before it'd be easier?.....So I am still stuck at this preliminary step on this issue for now.
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Issue #3

I've asked any of the users of this car in the household, whether they know if any change/coins has been inserted into the radio/cd player, but they denied this to their
knowledge, it also seems unlikely this would have happened, but I don't rule it out, because you suggested it. The latest update, again, since I had to disconnect the negative battery terminal during the driver's seat removal process, again I had a chance
to re-enter the radio code when I reattached the battery terminal, and once again the radio worked for a few hours. Subsequently, the radio/clock and cd player no longer work again, and there is no lights/power to the cd/radio/clock display at all now, once again.
Does this information help you diagnose what's happening to it? Should I really remove the radio, and what else could it be other than coins?

THANKS AGAIN!!

 
Rep Power: 517

Criteria: Is it tight?
Is it too loose?
Is it too tight?

There is a tightening spec for almost every fastener. If you don't have "the feel" of when something is tight enough, then a torque wrench may be needed.
A torque wrench is simply a measuring tool for the twisting force being applied to a fastener.

Torque in the US is normally expressed in foot-pounds (or inch-pounds).
Literally, that means X number of pounds applied on the end of a one foot long wrench.

Figure the force (weight) you applied to your wrench by hand as a guesstimate. (Hmm, that passed spellcheck?!?!)


Simple, cheap, beam type torque wrench:


You can spend a lot more money on other types.

Oh. Makes more sense now.
2 clips along the bottom edge of that trim, sorta pry it out to release the clips.

If you get that loose, then lower the steering column and you can remove the top cover if you need more room.

You really think a guilty kid would fess up? LOL

The problem sounds like it is within the radio. Loses random functions while other functions still work, that's inside the radio (IMHO).

Regardless of whether or not some kid did or did not drop coins in the slot, the problem still sounds like it is in the radio. If it is loose change, that's great it might be easily fixed. If no loose change, then I bet it will need the radio replaced.

That means the radio is coming out of the dash, either way.

 
Rep Power: 517

Torque on the buckle mounting bolt is 24 ft-lb.